The Boston Celtics (30-12, 13-7 Away) travel to face the Brooklyn Nets (27-13, 13-5 Home) Thursday in a matchup that pits explosive offense against tremendous defense.
Boston is playing on back-to-back days after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 125-114 at TD Garden yesterday, their fourth win in a row.
With 41 points and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown was the key player. The Celtics are one game ahead of the Nets atop the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in first. Brooklyn won a close one on Sunday at FTX Arena, beating the Miami Heat 102-101.
Kyrie Irving had 29 points and six assists, carrying the team. The Nets are trailing the Celtics by one game in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in second.It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams.
After taking the only previous season game against Brooklyn 103-92 at Barclays Center in December 2022, their eighth straight head-to-head victory, Boston will be aiming for a season sweep. Brown led the Celtics with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks. Kevin Durant had 31 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The Celts have been led this season by Jayson Tatum and Brown, who are averaging 30.8 and 27.2 points per game, respectively. Both are among the league’s top scorers, as Tatum is third and Brown is 10th.
Tatum also has grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart is dishing 7.2 assists per game.Durant’s 29.7 points per game have powered the Nets on offense. He ranks as the sixth-highest scorer in the NBA.
Nicolas Claxton is pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game, and Ben Simmons is recording 5.6 assists. The Celtics rank first in the league in offensive efficiency, while the Nets are fifth in defensive efficiency.
The teams have split their last 10 matchups at Barclays Center (5-5). Brooklyn is pursuing a sixth straight win at home this season. Meanwhile, the Celtics are 6-0 this season when playing the second of a back-to-back and 3-0 in such games against rested opponents.
The Nets are 2-1 with a rest advantage.Boston is 8-2 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +7.1 (120.7-113.6). Brooklyn has gone 9-1 over the last 10, scoring 120.2 points per game on average while allowing 109.1 (+11.1 margin).
CELTICS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Malcolm Brogdon: 17.2 | 13.6 | +3.6
Assists per game:
Marcus Smart: 5.0 | 7.2 | -2.2
NETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Seth Curry: 17.8 | 12.9 | +4.9
Joe Harris: 6.5 | 12.2 | -5.7
Points per game:
Seth Curry: 13.6 | 8.9 | +4.7
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Boston Celtics (-115)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
